Why Men Hate Going To Church, by David Murrow, explains why men are important to the church, what is driving men away from the church and most importantly, real steps that can be taken immediately to draw men back to the church. This book doesn’t waste time laying blame or offering guilt trips. It doesn’t cough up simplistic answers like, “real men go to church.” It does provide simple truths about what real men are really like and practical ways to connect with men in a church environment.

This book is at the top of the list of books I wish I had read before I became a pastor ten years ago. So many pastors are wrestling with issues relating to how to attract men to and engage men in the church. Underneath those questions are some assumptions that are rarely questioned, just accepted as fact. “Why Men Hate Going To Church” challenged and destroyed many of my assumptions about men’s ministry and replaced them with answers that have been proven in real ministry environments. If you are a pastor or church leader this book is absolutely essential reading.

In his new book, The Grace of God, author Andy Stanley explains and expounds on this much discussed and much misunderstood aspect of the character of God. Beginning with God’s grace in creation and continuing up to God’s grace for both our todays and tomorrows, Stanley discusses a deep theological subject in an accessible fashion with a conversational tone. This work is not one that sets out to define or defend certain doctrinal positions but rather to invite the reader to take hold of the grace that God is ever-present to give.

I found the book enlightening particularly in the opening chapters. Stanley does a great service by dispelling the commonly believed myth that the God of the Old Testament is fundamentally different from the God of the New Testament. The opening chapters reveal God’s grace in action from the first words of Scripture. This grace is just as active in both Testaments. Anyone who is interested in learning more about God’s character and nature but is intimidated by weighty theological tomes will profit greatly from this book.